Vegan Cranberry Muffins are a special treat any morning of the year but will be part of a memorable breakfast come Christmas morning. Also gluten-free, making this vegan cranberry muffin recipe is super easy. With these beautiful cranberry muffins on your holiday table, your family will beg you to make them again and again.

Cranberry muffins with powdered sugar and fresh berries , top view

With Christmas right around the corner, I had to make these gorgeous Vegan Cranberry Muffins to try and get myself into the holiday spirit. Being that this is the first Christmas without my beloved mother, its been a very difficult thing to do, but baking is always a comfort to me, so I had to jump in and just do it.

This vegan cranberry muffin recipe is super easy to make. But I must apologize to my newsletter subscribers. In the newsletter for this post, I mistakenly claimed the recipe uses only one pot. Please disregard as you need more that one bowl to make these muffins.

I am proud to present my first pictures with my brand new Canon 5D Mark IV camera and 70-200mm telephoto zoom lens. I’m in love love love with them and think you’ll see a big improvement with the food photos found on my website. I am a self-taught, amateur food photographer and have to say it’s been a challenging journey, but I do think I’m making progress. Please say I am!!!

For vegans like us, the holidays can be daunting. I was reading a post on FB today about a couple who told their family they were vegan and the family refused to prepare anything that they could eat; they told them if they wanted vegan holiday dishes, they would have to bring their own.

My family, even though it’s dwindled in size with the passing of both of my parents and many others, has always been great about my choice to become vegan. Although I haven’t been to a family dinner for several years (don’t want to see dead animals on the table), my sister always made sure she made vegan options in which I could indulge. I appreciated that so much and am hoping that your holidays are not filled with non-vegan drama, but with joy and happiness. However, if you feel you need to explain your decision to go vegan, and need tips on what to say to your non-vegan family members,please email me at veganvigilanteblog(at)gmail(dot)com.

Cranberries & sprigs of heather on a wood table.

Ingredients for Vegan Cranberry Muffins

Luckily for me, I had all the ingredients I needed to made this vegan cranberry muffin recipe. Perhaps you have the ingredients in your pantry, as well! On the other hand, if you don’t, here’s what you’ll need to make these vegan muffins:

2 flax eggs (add 4 tbsp water to 2 tbsp ground flax seed, stir well and freeze for 10-12 minutes)
2/3 cup oat milk (or any plant-based milk you choose)
2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
1-3/4 cup gluten-free flour
2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons (for topping) fine granulated sugar (vegan)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cup fresh or dried cranberries (see tips below for how to prepare these)

Flour and baking powder in white bowl on wooden table, top view

How to Make Vegan Cranberry Muffins

Follow these steps to make these festive cranberry muffins:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 Celsius), with rack adjusted to lower position. Line a muffin pan with liners (if you don’t have any, grease each tin lightly with vegan cooking spray or small amount of vegetable oil on a clean paper towel).
Make flax eggs by mixing, in a small bowl, 2 tablespoons ground flax seed with 4 tablespoons water. Stir and place in freezer for 10 to 12 minutes to allow it to thicken.
In another small bowl, mix almond milk with champagne vinegar and allow it to sit for 10 minutes until it starts to look curdled, at which time it turns into vegan buttermilk.
Into a large bowl, sift flour, vegan sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk gently until it appears combined.
As when you make homemade bread with yeast, take your fingers and make a small well in the center of dry ingredients. To your well, add vegetable oil, vanilla, flax eggs, and oat milk and vinegar mixture. Fold with spatula just until ingredients are well-combined. If it appears dry, then add 1-2 tablespoons of water and stir.
Gently fold in cranberries. There are two ways you can prepare the cranberries: 1) If you’re using fresh, add them to a small pan of water and simmer, just until they swell. DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO BURST. Drain, add to mixture and gently fold in about 3/4 cups, depending upon how much merry berries you want in your muffins, then save the rest for pushing into tops. 2) If you’re using dried, add to pot of boiling water, remove from heat, cover and wait for them to swell before folding them gently into mixture. Same applies to adjusting berry amount as it did with fresh berries. Don’t be alarmed if your batter is thick and lumpy from the cranberries.
Using a greased tablespoon, add two heaping spoonfuls of batter to prepared muffin tins. Push 2 or 3 cranberries gently into tops of muffin. Sprinkle with vegan sugar (both steps optional)
Bake for 25 minutes. Before removing, insert a toothpick to check if done. If it comes out clean, your muffins are good to go.
Remove muffins and place on cooling while still in the pan for 5-7 minutes. Gently remove each muffin from tin and transfer to cooling rack to allow to cool for another 10 minutes. Enjoy with a cup of my vegan eggnog.

Smooth whisked dough for cranberry muffins in a white bowl, top view

Tips for Making This Vegan Cranberry Muffin Recipe

If you don’t have red foil muffin tin liners or muffin toppers, you can make them decorative using basic ingredients. For example, sprinkle with vegan powdered sugar and top with fresh cranberries, then surround with a few sprigs of Christmas tree or fresh heather. The picture below is a batch I did with just the basics as mentioned above.
Adjust your baking time according to how hot your oven runs.
To get the look I achieved with these muffins, you must use fresh cranberries. Simply add cranberries to saucepan and water. Simmer on low for a couple of minutes (more or less as needed). It’s best that you not allow them to burst or you’ll get cranberry sauce instead of berries. Remove from heat and allow to cool before using them in the recipe.
If using dried cranberries, soak them in water overnight, or add to pot of boiling water, remove from heat, cover and allow to cool at which time they should be nice and swollen from the water intake.
Allow muffins to cool completely before removing from muffin liner.

In the mood for more holiday recipes? Check these out below:

Rick and Creamy Vegan Eggnog
Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies in a Jar (DIY Christmas gifts)
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
One Pot Vegan Corn Chowder

**Recipe adapted from Mindful Avocado

Vegan cranberry muffins on gray table with fresh cranberries and powdered sugar